Conditions
by SSA Javier Grey P.I
Summary: Keiko and Yuusuke's "conditions" scene in Episode 21: "Yuusuke's Sacrifice", KuramaxOC style. Completely forgetting the situation he was in, the fear of Karasu that paralyzed him was now replaced by another fear that motivated him to move. The fear of losing her.


**Author's Ramble: And heller again madlang tao! Just recently found out about Karasu, since the Tagalog version of this awesome show has so many cutouts, so here I am writing another fic of our adorable Kurama! Another writer already brought this issue up but I still got to ask: Why is it that I love Kurama and Karasu but I don't love Kurama **_**and**_** Karasu. As a couple I mean. I guess there's just something appealing about seeing Kurama actually scared and nervous and at the time there's something interesting about a character who can actually have that affect on him. But other than that, that's about it I can say about Karasu. So, please enjoy and review though I know a good percent of readers don't review, much less read the author's note.**

**Summary: During the Dark Tournament, Kurama left more behind than he thought. His life as Minamino Shuiichi... And the people with it. But one person wasn't going to just stay and wait.**

**Disclaimer: On my profile madla!  
**

* * *

Demons of all shapes and sizes littered the dark, dank corridors. Demented, deformed creatures, they kept their dark, soulless eyes or whatever appendage they used for sight on the the crimson-locked boy as he strode down the carpeted halls.

You would think why in Ningenkai would such monstrosities hold such contempt for the redhead. He was just a boy, a kid, a _child_. Yet then again, why such monstrosities hold any reservations against attacking such a seemingly innocent soul is more of a mystery.

Evil thrives on destruction and desecration. Destruction and desecration of all that is beautiful, pure and good.

Which is why he was standing, waiting, _stalking _this particular corner of the corridors, for the same Minamino Shuiichi who has won these low class beings' contempt.

And Karasu's eye.

Bui was a more... imposing figure than the tall, raven-haired masked madman. Also gifted in height, he was also gifted with size, cladded in layers and articles of thick metal.

Though much prettier than imposing, with his long raven hair and bewitching purple eyes, as dark and deep as the purple of the night sky, Karasu was no less threatening. Especially after the performance he put on stage. Though he liked tact and style in his methods, he liked explosions too. They were loud, flamboyant displays of destruction, with effects just as extravagant. With a single touch, so much carnage. And even after the _boom,_ the scent of heat, smoke, blood and gunpowder still filled the air. A weapon loud, proud,thoroughly destructive and with a lingering imposing weapon indeed.

He hoped _he _liked explosions too, as much as he liked flowers.

But Karasu wasn't going to use explosions on his sweet, pretty Kurama.

Though loud, proud, thoroughly destructive and with a lingering aftermath, explosions were _too_ quick. No, Kurama was _too_ pretty for that.

Long, flowing crimson locks. And those emerald-green eyes. Pretty wasn't good enough a word. Nor was beautiful. Yet Karasu was no poet nor great scribe. He was an artist not with the pen but of destruction. He will show his love to his pretty little Kurama not through words, but the best way he knows how.

So no explosions for sweet, pretty Kurama. They had to savour it.

You shouldn't rush foreplay.

* * *

But like a madly in love teenage girl, he still couldn't get his sweet _kitsune _out of his head.

So here he waited for his _koi_, futility found in satisfying himself with fantasies of their consummated love in the ring.

And here he comes.

* * *

_Somehow I have to find a way to transform..._

This and similar thoughts clouded the fifteen-year old _kitsune's _mind. So enraptured in battle strategies and tranformations, he had forgotten for the moment where he was. And the sort of beings that surrounded him.

Yet Kurama didn't care. Shaken and nervous, the only thoughts that surrounded him were the hows of winning. Strategy after strategy as he walked the halls absentmindedly, unaware of the looks of complete disgust and contempt that surrounded him as thoroughly as the deeply corrupted air within these walls.

So when he saw the black-haired man leaning casually against the wall suddenly stand at attention and position himself in the middle of the way, Kurama couldn't help the soft swear that escaped his usually chaste lips.

"You were the only one watching the match. Your team must be terribly confident." Karasu's silken voice drawled, heavy with a strange admiration, at the same time sarcasm. Yet Kurama was not fooled. Even the finest silk, so soft and smooth, can be used to strangle.

"Quite the contrary actually." Kurama spoke softly, his voice strained, a futile attempt to mask his fear with indifference and cool.

The next thing he knew, the damn bastard with his silken voice vanished before his eyes.

Kurama's forest-green eyes darted left, right and after a millisecond's thought, skyward, in search for the elusive snake.

The same beautiful green eyes widened in a cocktail of apprehension, fear and surprise when he felt fingers dangle down and across his neck, the same silky voice drawling close to his ear.

"Your hair is a bit damaged Kurama. These human bodies are so... _fragile_." Karasu whispered the final word closer to the frightened _kitsune's_ ear, his fingers trailing down the boys slender neck. Karasu marveled at how soft the boy's skin was, how exciting and thrilling it was to feel him shiver and shudder under his touch.

" You fear my touch, yet at the same time..." He paused momentarily to drag his fingers down Kurama's back, taking his time to feel every one of the nubs of his spine. Kurama could feel the heat of the bastard's touch. Somehow he imagined the madman's touch to be cool and clammy, like the unfeeling dead. Or slimy and slippery like a snake ready to strike. Not this warm, gentle lover's caress, so much like the loving touch of a human being yet without the love and care of one.

Kurama took a slow, shuddering breath to steady himself. He failed.

"... you want to know what it can do." The masked madman punctuated with a shuddering breath of his own, more of excitement than fear. He was about to start the exploration of the boy's spine again.

"MINAMINO SHUIICHI!"

Other than the deceased Roto, and the dreaming Karasu, no one on this island on this side of Hell called Kurama by his human name.

Both the boy and his tormentor opened their beautiful eyes, one the color of nature and its life while the other the darkness of twilight, towards the source of the scream.

Ten feet away, in denim shorts, a white polo-shirt, a gray elbow-length cardigan and white sneakers, was fifteen-year old Katada Mai.

"M-Mai..." Shuiichi spoke softly, shocked and relieved. Yet mostly shocked.

Her long raven hair, which somehow held more vitality and softness than the Masked Madman, wasn't held back with a white butterfly clamp like it always was. It was down and messy and tangled in places, like she forgot to at least comb it through, like when the two teens were in third-grade and Mai got up later than the Sandman. Yet her hair still held more beauty than Karasu's in its innocent disregard.

Yet the pleasing surprise of seeing this particular aspect of his bestfriend-since-second-grade, not that he always wanted to see it anyway, was instantly diluted by her eyes.

Cerulean blue, her eyes always held depth. There was something about those big blue eyes of hers that spoke of wisdom, deep understanding and a harmony with herself and the universe. Which was one of the reasons why, two years ago, after saving her from _things,_ for a lack of a better, more appropriate term, and after she found out he wasn't _all _that he seemed to be, he didn't erase her memory like he did with Kitajima. Partly was because he knew she would understand, he saw it in her eyes. Another part was because he couldn't lose a friend like her.

Yet now, seeing her deep, cerulean eyes, he knew that was exactly what was going to happen. Unhindered by any cliche spectacles, he saw fear paint her blue orbs. Fear, worry and pain... So similar to what he has seen in his mother's eyes, yet at the same time so different, in ways deeper, in ways much more profound. He shut his own green eyes to her pain, but opened them once more to look at her straight. He has done nothing to put her at ease during or at least before his sudden dissappearance, he wasn't going to turn a blind eye to her pain now. The least he could do was meet it.

When he opened his eyes, she was walking away.

Completely forgetting the situation he was in, the fear of Karasu that paralyzed him was now replaced by another fear that motivated him to _move_. The fear of losing her.

"MAI!"

She stopped yet did not turn to look at him. Shuiichi stopped two feet from her, wanting to get closer yet afraid to.

"Mai..." Shuiichi stood shakily. He rubbed his clothed arm with his right hand, green eyes trained on the ground, scarlet bangs shadowing his handsome face.

Karasu watched the scene with a perverse interest and burning bitterness. Who was this child who could so easily demand _his_ Shuiichi-chan's attention?

Katada Mai sighed. She wasn't used to playing hard-to-get yet that didn't mean she was an "easy score" sort of girl too. Heck she didn't even know how to play the game. A soft whimper from behind her brought another sigh. Finally obliging him, she turned, and her beautiful blue eyes softened.

From his ground perspective, he saw her sneakered feet turned, toe towards him. Lifting his face to meet her eyes, he saw in her hands was the ever-present Biology textbook. He chuckled a bit as he finally met her soft gaze, soft blushes on both children's faces.

"Why are you laughing? Just because I suddenly go on a whole search-and-rescue sort of thing doesn't mean I have to leave behind _everything. _Unlike you..." She ended her easy tease with a whisper.

Kurama stopped his gentle chuckling, a frown marring his face. She was right. In all his adorable perfection, he had this strange aura of impermanence, like any second he could get up, walk out the door and never return. And though Mai was his bestfriend, even she didn't know about his original plan to leave this world the second he was fully recuperated. And this scary new knack of his to drop everything and leave at the drop of a hat, at the blink of an eye, at the whisper of the wind, just proves her point and rationalizes the look in her eyes. A look he didn't want to see and didn't want to be the cause of.

"Mai... _Gomen Nasai_." Shuichi softly whispered, eyes on the ground once more, bangs covering his face. "I really am sor-"

A finger stood in front of his face. He looked up to find Mai, her gaze soft and her smile warm.

His own soft lips twitched upward. He was forgiven.

The single finger became two.

"I'll forgive you Shuiichi. On two conditions." Her gentle expression turned serious.

"One, when you have to suddenly go off to stuff..." She gestured around her. "...like this. At least tell me. Or at least give me a call once in a while so I know how you're doing, if you're even still alive or should I call Shiori-baachan and tell her you somehow died in a weird lab accident and your body was so disfigured she can't give you an open casket funeral so at least she can have some peace. You don't know how much I worry about you when you run off like that. And you don't know how much your mom does too."

_Don't worry Mai, I have some ide- Wait... Did she just say she worries?_

Shuiichi stood still, a look of understanding replaced by a slight confusion. He waited for her to continue. Karasu stood eight feet behind them with Bui, feeling confused, alone and ignored.

"Second, well... Give me a little credit Shuiichi." It was Mai's turn to look at her feet, folding and rubbing the pages of her book, her ebony locks veiling her pretty face.

"I'm your bestfriend right? So next time, I hope you give me even just a bit of trust. You don't have to hide and duck everytime you have to go. Just tell me straight. _Onegai?_ Just a bit of trust." She whispered. She looked at him with a smile, pinkie finger thrusted out. Maybe it was a bit childish to be making a pinkie promise in the middle of the dark corridors of a demonic battle arena.

But that was one thing he loved about her.

Wrapping his pinkie finger around hers, he whispered with a genteel smile, "Promise."

With conflict resolved, he remembered the other predicament he was in before Mai came. Like the return of a migraine after you deal with a foot ache, it hit home hard and fast. Kurama forgot all about his tormentor behind his back, his grabby fingers sliding against his clothed skin, and Kurama shuddered.

Shuiichi's sudden change in body language did not go unnoticed by Mai. Behind the young man were demons and other terrible nightmarish creatures. Yet she knew Shuiichi didn't fear these monsters, he fought more terrible ones on that fateful night when they were in sixth-grade. Though human with no supernatural or spiritual powers whatsoever, she was his bestfriend. And that was enough to pinpoint the source of Shuiichi's fear to be the man under the most beguiling disguise. Long, smooth ebony locks like hers, his eyes screamed of contempt and bitterness towards her. And she meant he was looking right at _her._ The way the "Minamino Shuiichi Forever" fanclub at their school looked at her. Yet his was mixed with more than just the rage and jealousy of an obsessed teenager but with what she couldn't point out. But just because she didn't know, doesn't make it any less scary.

And the fact that even Shuiichi feared this man did not comfort her.

But being a teen, in this time and age, especially a teen who would not conform to the status quo, Mai knew a thing or two about teenage rage. One of the identifiable emotions in the twilight-eyed man's face.

She ran behind Shuiichi's back and turned towards him. Back turned to the Masked Madman she spoke in a loud but cheery, comforting tone.

"_Ne_, Shuiichi. Remember the time when we were in fourth grade? When you climbed that tree to save that little girl?"

Kurama looked towards her. _What is she up to? _"_Un_. Why?"

"Did you know that that tree was the biggest one in the park? That every kid wanted to climb it but were too scared to?"

"Yeah..." Still confused, Shuiichi answered. Turning fully to her he realized what she was doing.

Mai stretched out her hand to him.

"You were really brave back then." Her lips turned towards the ceiling, eyes half-lidded. A gentle beseeching expression.

She was comforting him.

"A really smart aleck used to tell me, _"Share your happiness and they grow..."_"

Kurama took her hand.

_"...share your fear and it shrinks."_

She pulled at his hand and down the hallway they ran. Just like when they were kids running away from the bullies, the monsters and the scary.

But now they were running towards them.

_You used to tell me that Shuiichi, whenever I got scared, you would tell me that._

"Yuusuke made a wager this morning." Shuiichi began as they came closer to Karasu and Bui.

"Whoever can beat him in training, wins a bowl of ramen at Keiko-san's restaurant. On Yuusuke."

"Really?"

"_Hai_. Even Hiei's going to try. Yuusuke wagered a bowl of Keiko-san's father's best ice cream dessert too. All on him."

The two teens passed between the feared members of the Toguro Team. But for some reason, Kurama wasn't scared anymore.

Looking into Karasu's eyes as they passed by, Kurama held a confident smirk, as if to say, _"I look forward to our fight. And I don't intend to lose."  
_

* * *

Fifteen-year old Katada Mai and Minamino Shuiichi travelled between the two figures, one imposing, one prettier than imposing, both deadly and one with an unhealthy obsession with the redhead _kitsune_, unharmed. The two continued down the corridors, the faint talk of ramen and training along with cushioned footstepsthe only sound between them.

Was it just Karasu or did the two seem to glow? Not glow like a descending angel or something dramatic like that but like a gentle light radiated from them as the ran the dark halls. Like their friendship shielded them, at the same time guided them.

Evil thrives on destruction and desecration. Destruction and desecration of all that is beautiful, pure and good.

Which is why he must destroy that girl, their love that diminishes his fear and lights his path.

Before he could get to his sweet, little Kurama. _His_ pretty Kurama.

Katada Mai.

* * *

**Author's Ramble: Writing Karasu's POV is just... disturbing. So do you guys like it? Maybe Kurama is a bit OOC but he was scared of Karasu. I just wanted to show how love and friendship can dispel the fear in his heart, how he is not alone... And I kind of wanted to make Karasu jealous. Read **_**"Ice Crunching"**_** to know a bit more about Mai! I was torn between my OC or Kitajima Maya but I thought this would be nice too. If you guys want the Maya version, please PM me and I'll do my best to deliver. Got a lot of pending fics and homework to do, so you know... Review please madlang tao!**


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